Apr 2005

Having just returned from Phuket without my family (they are on holiday and don't have to worry about final exams in less than 10 days), I'm a bit low. Thus I've decided to write about my time with them here (and in Phuket) so far to aid the recovery process. (Oh, and of course to procrastinate ... there is some serious study to be done ... later!)

Mum, Dad & Flis arrived in Singapore on the evening of Sat April 16 to a short-haired Tris. I decided to exploit them (I mean, spend as much time as possible with them by heading to the 24hr Swensen's on Orchard to catch up. I think I was a bit overexcited to see them because I remember talking at a million miles an hour, and trying to make myself seem as 'local' as possible. Mum said I looked like a backpacker, so I guess I failed at that one. (I would later lead them the wrong way a few times so I take that as Singapore 1 Tris 0)

I had decided a few days prior to their arrival that I would make this trip about the food, as that is what Singapore is best known for. We all visited Singapore in 2003 (see blog and photos on this site), so I didn't want to spend the few days they were here re-visiting tourist attractions. High on their agenda though was seeing PGP and NUS, so we did have to do some sight-seeing, but that's ok.

So, to the food. I'd decided the Ban Mian (homemade noodles) at Bugis were definitely worth a visit (God they are good!), as well as Fish Head Curry at Muthu's in Little India, Steamboat at Marina South, and satays at Smith St, Chinatown (an old favourite). So that was the plan! And guess what, we managed to fit it all in!

Argh!!! Today should have been fantastic - instead I spent most of it sulking about sleeping in and missing my one chance to visit Chek Jawa (the intertidal flats located on Pulau Ubin, the nature reserve/island off Singapore's North-East coast).

I was meant to wake at around 6am (those of you who know me realise how impossible that was going to be!) to be on public transport at 7 and on the island by 8am.

Why did you have to be up so early? The answer comes from the nature of the flats. Because they are below sea-level, viewing them requires you to be there at extreme low tides, which only occur at certain times (usually very early in the morning) and only on certain days of the month.

Instead of waking up, however, I heard my alarm (which comes from my mobile phone!) at 6, and chose not to do anything about it. It proceeded to fall on the floor (due to the vibrate function on my mobile shaking it off the table), at which point its battery fell out and the alarm ceased. I woke up naturally at 9am, and it took me a few seconds to realise what happened.

So...in conclusion. I have no decided to get a real alarm clock and make sure I stick to it. I can't believe, after all my forward planning etc..., that I missed out on this opportunity!!! Argh! NO MORE SLEEP-INS!!

On the plus side, I've just returned from coffee at Holland V with Mark. It was initially going to be movies in the city, but, try as we might, we couldn't get a taxi!!! I guess we just weren't looking in the right places. Happy 20th mate!

PS: If you're interested, I heard from Kristin (who did wake up in time) that it was very interesting. That is, aside from the kids who kept on stepping on starfish etc...! Damn kids!

I thought I'd defer from my usual ramblings today to discuss something that all long-term travellers will feel at some time. No, I'm not talking about homesickness per-se. I'm talking about missing important events back home.

For me, the most important (personal) events I've missed have been my parents' birthdays. Before I arrive home, I will also miss my younger sisters birthday. This year was a particularly important birthday for my Mum (I won't mention which one here!), and it felt strange not being able to celebrate with them at home.

Granted, we tend not to have large birthday celebrations (except for me!), so I didn't miss a huge party or anything, but the concept behind it is more important.

The more you miss, the further you feel from those you left behind. There is always the ability to phone, and MSN and Skype help a lot in keeping the links strong, however they don't compare to actually being there.

I dunno ... this is one of those "hmmm" posts that don't really lead anywhere, but I felt it important to include these sorts of ramblings (some might say musings!) here as well as the usual pragmatic stuff.

OK, to answer many people's queries about Singapore all at once, I thought I'd put them all in one big post.

(1) Where are you?
Prince George's Park Residences
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore

(2) What are you doing there?
I'm on University exchange with Sydney University. I am studying subjects at NUS that will be credited to my Sydney degrees.

(3) What language do they speak there?
There are four official languages.
English is the language of admin.
Malay is the national language.
Mandarin is the official language of the Chinese majority.
Tamil is the official language of the Indian minority.
On top of that there are the two main Chinese dialects Hokkien and Hakka, and other Indian dialects, such as Hindi.

(4) Can you tell me what Singlish is?
Singlish is Singaporean English. Basically its English, spoken with a tonal accent - think of Chinese sentence structures being applied to English phrases, add 'lah' at the end for emphasis, and a smattering of Hokkien, Mandarin and Malay phrases in the sentences, and you've got it.

It's a lot harder to understand and be understood than you'd expect, considering we are taught in English. The lecturer's are easy to understand, it's just the students that can be difficult.

Some examples:
Can (lah)- I am able; We are able to ...
Also can (lah) - That's a good suggestion/alternative, we can also do that...
Cannot (lah) - We can't do that.
Come 1:30 can already - We will be there from 1:30, so you can come after that.
Ulu - jungle in Malay - the sticks.
Makan - to eat in Malay - Let's Makan/Have you Makan? - have you eaten?
Wah lao - OMG in Hokkien
Wah lan (a) - F**k in Hokkien

(5) When will you be home?
Ah, the most popular question!!
July 7 is my current expected date home. It's now booked and final.

I will be in China May 15-June 13.
Singapore June 13-15.
Thailand (Ko Phi Phi) June 15-July 4.
Singapore July 5-7.

(6) Are you enjoying it?
Hell yeah! It's been a challenge at times, but I've grown to love it. I will miss Singapore and the people I've met here a lot when I leave.

(7) What is the weather like?
Hot and sticky. 25-31 degrees 365 days a year, with varying levels of humidity. Nov-Jan/Apri-Jul are the wettest times.

(8) What is the time difference between Singapore and Sydney?
-3hrs in non-daylight savings
-2hrs in daylight savings (now)

(9) Have you changed?
I don't know. Some people say yes (Lu, Dad), others no (Mum). I can't say as I don't view myself as a person - I'm me.

(10) What have been your best/worst expereience(s) so far?
Best - going to Cambodia, having Chinese New Year dinner with a local family, meeting all my global friends
Worst - the first week before orientation, the 'not-knowing' factor that comes with moving to a new place, the cliques that have developed among some groups of exchange students.

(11) What are living costs like?
Housing/cars for the locals are really expensive (unless you live in govt-subsidised HDB flats).
Cars have the CoE (Certificate of Entitlement) which can be up to $20000 and then the cost of the car, which is taxed at 200%.
Food is dirt-cheap. Lumch/Dinner is max $4 (usually $2-3).
Clubbing is expensive - as alcohol is taxed so highly.

(12) Do the locals study really hard?
Yes and no. I think the Singaporeans study more, but they seemingly have no sense of time management, so it balances each other out

(13) Singapore v Sydney
Argh! Sydney is my home!!! I could live here short-medium term, but not for the rest of my life. The political restrictiveness would get to me (being a political-science/govt major), rather than the rules (Singapore is a fine city as they say)

That being said, I think both cities can learn from each other. For example, there is far more of an international feel here. The singaporeans realise they have to go overseas to experience the world - its far less insular than syd - like we think if there is anything important around the world, it'll come to us.